Tzatziki Inspired Cucumber Salad

Derek: “I picked up some chicken souvlaki/thai sausages/pork chops” for us at the market.”

Me: “Oooh awesome! Let’s see what we can have with it” *Opens the fridge* “Well, I can throw a salad together… and we can roast up some sweet potato to have on the side.”

So, yeah, a lot of our meals start with the main component (or the meat!) and then we plan the sides around it, often just using what we have on hand. Since we always have lots of fruits, nuts, and veggies we end up having a salad with dinner about 80% of the time. Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s really fantastic… but, I try to prevent salad boredom by changing the ingredients up. It’s like a challenge I set for myself: How many salads can I make without repeating the exact same ingredients twice.

When I was taking these pictures, all I could think was: “Chicken souvlaki would go perfectly with this!” Perhaps it is almost like a tzatziki salad? It takes me back to our Greek honeymoon!

I mentioned that we always have fruit and vegetables on hand. Well,the one vegetable that we always, always have is cucumber. Always. Now, this creamy cucumber salad is little more than just cucumber, but adding a few ingredients turn it into a perfect barbecue side dish.

So in addition to the ever pressent cucumber, what else do you need? Fresh dill.

Here’s everything you will need to make your own creamy cucumber salad:

1/3 cup of sour cream (I prefer the low fat kind)

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

a pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 large cucumber, thinly sliced

fresh dill to taste

How to:

Combine the sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to create your creamy dressing.

Place the thinly sliced cucumbers in your serving bowls, and use a spoon to scoop a few dollops of the dressing on top of it.

Shred the dill by hand and add on top of the salad. Garnish with fresh black pepper.

Serves 2

This is totally a tzatziki inspired side salad! Feel free to add crushed garlic or garlic oil to the dressing – I chose to omit it this time, but the garlic lover in me might add it next time. This cucumber salad will be a fantastic side dish to barbecued souvlaki with roasted potatoes! Yum.

Best served with a glass of ice cold white wine. Just close your eyes and imagine you are sitting on a patio overlooking the Mediterranean!